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Simultaneous Desorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals from Contaminated Soils by Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants

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Abstract

Hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) and heavy metals (HMs) are toxins that usually coexist in natural environments. Due to the differences in their properties, it remains challenging to simultaneously remove HMs and HOCs. In this study, the removal of phenanthrene (Phe) and lead (Pb) from co-contaminated soils by single rhamnolipid (RL) and mixed RL-sophorolipid (SL) biosurfactants were evaluated via soil column experiments. Biosurfactant micelle sizes were determined by dynamic light scattering, and the mechanisms of micelle solubilization were studied. The effects of biosurfactant concentrations, pH, washing agent salinity and the ageing time of polluted soils on Phe and Pb desorption efficiencies were also assessed. The substantial removal of Phe and Pb using mixed RL-SL systems, when molar fractions of RLs were 0.7, was attributed to large mixed micelle formation and lower sorption losses of these systems. The optimal pH value was 6.0, while Phe desorption was favoured at high RLs and low ionic strengths. However, the RLs concentration and ionic strength had no obvious influence on Pb removal. In addition, both Phe and Pb desorption decreased with increased ageing of the polluted soils. Combined RL-SL biosurfactants can be effective for simultaneously removing HOCs and HMs from polluted soils.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Fund Projects of China (Nos. 41371314 and 51202229), the Key Research & Development Project of Shandong Province (No. 2017GHY15117), the Major Focus Project of Henan Academy of Sciences (No. 19ZD08001), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 18JK02025).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to the work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Liang Wu & Changsheng Peng

  2. China Offshore Environmental Service Limited, Tianjin, 300452, China

    Liang Wu

  3. High and New Technology Research Center of Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450002, China

    Dandan Song, Yujun Shang, Xiuli Wang & Xueliang Dong

  4. Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Lele Yan, Shengkang Liang & Yanqun Yang

  5. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Lele Yan, Shengkang Liang & Yanqun Yang

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  1. Liang Wu
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  2. Dandan Song
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  3. Lele Yan
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  4. Shengkang Liang
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  9. Xueliang Dong
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Correspondence to Shengkang Liang.

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Wu, L., Song, D., Yan, L. et al. Simultaneous Desorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals from Contaminated Soils by Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants. J. Ocean Univ. China 19, 874–882 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-020-4266-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-020-4266-y

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